In moving the ready position push off forward, the first step is to understand where you should be looking.   To start, keep your eyes focused back on the hand that’s holding on to the wall.

Use the leverage of that hand to pull you UP just a bit.  This upward lift will add extra weight to the fall when you let go, making it much easier to drop to the proper depth for the pushoff.

The pull up, or lift is very important to making this easy, just as the head position looking back.

After you’ve lifted up just a bit, let go with the top hand and allow your body to fall into the water.  Take the top hand over your head and allow it to meet the other hand as they prepare for the streamline position.

You’ll notice our swimmer is on his side in this pushoff, but in this exercise, we want him to get to a flat body position like you practiced in the 3-point pop up.

Using the FEET on the wall, start to torque, or spin your body before the feet leave the wall.

Breaking this down just a bit more, let’s watch the full action.

First, our swimmer is in a relaxed “ready position” on the wall.

Next, he lifts his body up slightly using the hand that’s holding on to the wall.

As the body prepares to fall, he actually repositions his feet just a bit higher.  You’ll notice that he’s actually completely off the wall at one point before he pushes off.

While the body is falling deeper into the water, he uses the bottom hand to sweep up, pulling the body down to the level of the feet.

The hands meet in streamline and he starts the jump off the wall.  

As you leave the wall, use the wall to help you spin toward the flat position.

The better your core control is, the easier this will be to master.  Keep practicing until it feels natural.


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Drop and push - Flat